Protective device



June 17, 1958 B, R, TQWNLEY 2,{8 38,758

PROTECTIVE DEVICE Filed Jan. 5, 1955 2,838,758 PROTECTIVE DEVICE Bernard R. Townley, North Plainfield, N. J. Application January s, 195s, serial No. 479,910

1 Claim. (Cl. 2-49) v This invention relates to a protective device and is more particularly concerned with a protective device in the for-rn of a bib. While not limited thereto, the invention more specifically relates to a bib to be worn by infants to protect their clothing during the drooling age.

Bibs are a well-known type of protective device and various forms of bibs have been proposed and used. Known forms of bibs, however, become soiled with useV and either have to be discarded or washed. Washing, while partially effective, tends to fade the bibs and to give them a used, unattractive appearance, and in many `cases stains of various kinds cannot be removed even by the most vigorous Washing. As a result, after a bib has been used a few times, it loses any attractive appearance it may have originally had. When the used bib is worn, it'serves its utilitarian purpose but detracts from the wearers appearance. Completely disposable bibs have been proposed which are discarded after each use. lWhile a fresh-appearing bib is always available, the continuous disposal of the entire bib is expensive and the bibs themselves lack the strength of conventional cloth bibs. a result, they are frequently torn or otherwise damaged even before they have become soiled, and must be discarded. A type of bib which is commonly used lto protect the clothing of infants is the so-called drooling bib. This bib is worn c-ontinuously by the child to protect the childs shirt-front or'dress or other -garment during the drooling stage. In this type of bib, appearance is of paramount importance since the bibs are worn primarily when the child is wearing his best clothing. An old-appearing, stained bib greatly detracts from the childs appearance no matter how attractive the clothing he is wearing may be. There is an important need, therefore, for a bib which can be used for long periods of time, and repeatedly, and yet which retains its new, clean, attractive appearance and has suicient strength `to Withstand all normal use.

It is an object -of the present invention to provide `a bib which avoids the disadvantages and drawbacks of previously-known bibs.

l It is a further object of the invention 'to provide a bib tion and a front portion secured to the back portion along a portion of its periphery but a slit between the two portions being provided to permit access to the interior of the bib body. The back portion is formed from a moisture-proof, flexible material and the front portion is nited States Patent O 2 in the form of moisture-repellent netting. Interiorly of the'bib body there is provided an absorbent filler which is intended to be removed and replaced when it becomes soiled, andl the bib is provided with suitable means for removably securing it under the chin of the wearer.

It is a feature of the invention that the bib body construction prevents moisture from reaching the wearers clothing yet insures the passage of moisture from the front of the bib to the interior `absorbent filler.

It is a further feature of `the invention that the reticulated front portion or face of the bib,fwhile permitting free access of moisture, retains the liller in place and prevents the childs hands from reaching and damaging the ller.

It is another feature of the invention that the reticulated front portion tends to obscure minor stains on the filler so that the filler can be used` even after it has become partly stained without detracting from the appearanceY of the bib. l

Other objects and features of the invention will be` readily apparent from the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments of fthe invention and fro the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a bib construction embodyingv features of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the bib body, with the filler Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken approximately along the line 4 4 of Fig. l; and

,Fig 5 is a fragmentary plan View of another em-V bodiment of the invention.

Referring to the drawing, and more particularly to Figs.

l and 2, the reference numeral 10 designates generally the bib body illustrated. The body 10 is formed by a moisture-proof back portionk12 and a front reticulated portion 14. The portions-12 and 14 are conveniently cut in the form shown to provide aneck opening 16 and side wing portions 17 which overlie the shoulders of the wearer. The front portion 14 and the back portion 12 are secured together along their outer edges and, in thel embodiment illustrated, the securing means conveniently comprises a tape 18 which is folded over the free edges of the two portions and stitched as indicated at 20. Along the neck opening 16, however, the front and back` portions are not secured so that there is provided a slit 22 which permits access to the interior of the body 10. Along the neck opening, each edge is enclosed by tapes 24 to protect the edges from raveling or tearing. The back portion 12 is formed from a waterproof flexible material of any convenient type. I have found the wellknown vinyl plastic sheeting to be particularly suitable for this purpose. A commercial formof this type of sheeting .is-sold under the 'trade-name Krenef- The front portion 14 comprises netting which is formed from water-repellent threads. The threads may be treated to make them water-repellent by any convenient means or threads of a normally water-repellent material are advantageously employed. Threads of nylon and like synthetic fibers have been found to be particularly eiective for this purpose.

Disposed interiorly of the bib body 10 is a removable moisture-absorbent filler 25 which is adapted to be inserted through the slit 22. The filler is conveniently formed from absorbent paper and a particularly effective construction comprises a plurality of very thin paper webs Z6 overlying one another in multi-ply relationship and a non-absorbent paper backing sheet 28. The webs 26 and the backing sheet 28 are secured together as a unit along their edges. A design, such as indicated at Patented June 17, 1958A3 30, is advantageously embossed in the paper web with colored ink by means of a `suitable die. The design 30 is visible through the reticulated front portion 14 and ladds to the attractiveness of the bib. The ller 25' is readily inserted into the bib body through the slit 22 by rolling it laterally into a loose roll before inserting -it and then unrolling it to lie flat as shown in Fig. 1.

Suitable means are provided for removably securing the bib around the neck of the wearer. In the embodi- Vrnent illustrated, the securing means take the form of extensions 32 of the edging tapes. The securing means may, however, be separately-attached strips or tapes and may be adapted to be tied, as in a bow, or to be buttoned or otherwise secured around the neck.

When the bib is in use, any moisture passes through the reticulated front portion and is absorbed by ythe filler 25. When the ller has become wet or stained or odorous, it is simply removed and replaced by a fresh liller. The fillers can be made very inexpensively so that their use doe-s not represent a very great expense and, in any clase, the cost of the llers is substantially less than the cost of an entire disposable bib. Moreover, the llers are protected by being encased in the bib body so that they do not suffer mechanical damage and, since minor stains are masked -by the netting of the front portion 14, they may `be used for relatively long periods of time without adversely affecting the appearance of the bib as a whole.

It will be understood that various changes and modifica-tions may be made in the structure of the abovedescribed embodiment without departing from the scope of the invention as dened in the appended claims. For example, the slit in the bib body to permit insertion of the filler may be formed along the flower edge or along one of the side edges of the bib body rather than in the neck opening, although the latter construction has im` portant practical advantages. With a lower or side edge opening, it is generally necessary to close the slit when the ller is in place to prevent it from falling out. For this purpose, snaps or buttons are conveniently used. In another embodiment, the neck opening may be omitted and the bib maybe formed with a straight top edge similar to the bottom edge of the bib body shown in Fig. l, a suitable sflit being, `of course, provided for insertion of the ller.

As shown in the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 5, insertion and retention of the absorbent filler may be effected by means of tie cords removably secured to it. In this embodiment, the back portion 35 is provided with an `aperture 36 in each wing which is suitably reinforced by means of a grommet 38. The binding tape 40 seals the back portion 35 and the front portion 42 to each other along their side and upper edges but a slit 44 is provided along the bottom edge, the free bottom edges of the front and back portions being suitably taped as indicated lat 46 to prevent tearing or raveling. The ller 25 is inserted through the bottom slit 44 `and is drawn up into the bib by means of tie cords 48 which are removably secured to the upper edge of the filler by means '4 of clamps 50 of any convenient type. The cords 48 pass through the apertures 36 and the ller is drawn into place merely by pulling on the cords. The cords then serve as the means for securing the bib around the neck of the wearer.

While the bib construction of the invention is particularly suitable for a drooling bib, it will be understood that its dimensions may vary and that the lbib may be formed with a width and length sufficient to cover the entire body of the wearer. A drooling bib constructed in accordance with the invention advantageously has a width `of 'six inches at its widest part and an over-all length of six inches. The neck opening is suitably two and one-quarter inches wide at its point of maximum width, and has a length of two and one-half inches, measured from the extension of the upper edges of the wing portions. The filler is dimensioned to fit freely in the bib body as shown in the drawing. The netting which forms the front portion of the bib body may be of varying sizes but preferably it has a size of to 625 mesh per square inch, and a mesh size of 361 mesh per square inch is particularly suitable.

It will be understood that various other changes and modifications may be made in my bib construction within the scope of the claim and it will be further understood that, insofar as they are not mutually incompatible, the various features and details of construction of the embodiments shown and described are interchangeable with one another. It is intended, therefore, that all matter contained in the foregoing description and in the drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative only.

I claim:

A protective device adapted to be worn against wearing Iapparel comprising, in combination, a body formed by a back portion and a front portion secured thereto along a portion of its periphery, the remaining portion of the periphery defining a slit between the front portion and the back portion to permit access to the interior of the body, said back portion being formed from a continuous moisture-proof, flexible sheet material effective to prevent passage of moisture to the wearing apparel and said front portion being formed from moisture-repellent netting, and a moisture-absorbent design-carrying iiller removab'ly disposed interiorly of said body, said netting offering substantially no obstruction to visibility of said ller whereby said filler and the design thereon are freely visible through the netting of the front portion and said netting permitting free access of moisture to said filler but resisting absorption of moisture.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 593,618 Stackhouse Nov. 16, l897 708,317 Catzen Sept. 2, 1902 889,073 Walbridge May 26, 1908 1,436,134 Worms Nov. 2l, 1922 2,390,565 Topjian Dec. ll, 1945 2,523,565 Gardner Sept. 26, 1950 2,727,239 Simon Dec. 20, 1955 

